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MacBook Air 2018
- Thread starter Dave245
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Glad that you are happy with your purchase. We tend to get more negative comments than positive about new Apple products because there is a natural tendency to critic newly released devices. That's ok.....so long as it's taken with a grain of salt. There are certainly times when the criticism is warranted.
The new MBA is perfect for me, and I will upgrade when my 2014 MBA starts to show signs of trouble. Currently, it is humming along. I really just have one remaining concern about the new MBA....the reliability of the gen 3 Butterfly keyboard. Only time will tell if Apple has addressed this issue. There have been problems with the 2018 MBP. I hope the 2018 MBA will be different.
Let us know what you think after the week with the new rMBA. After reading a bunch of post about new purchases seem's that 256 GB SSD is the winner at this time. Have not seen a lot of post about the base model with 128 GB SSD, or maybe I missed them. As a person who really, really, likes the MBA line, maybe this is a sign that one day we will get 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD, in an update in the next few rounds. Of course it's Apple, so they would keep the same price
I would like to see the rMBA get down to the $999.00 price range, and they keep the old one and lower it to say $799 at regular price. My family members could care less about retina, RAM, they do ask about storage though, left over from the 500 GB HD days And none of them ever get close to maybe 50 GB of use n storage, if that! Now I am only talking about MY family the Student's, YouTube, Netflix, FaceBook, Surfing the Web, Online Shopper's, etc... type people. Which I think is most MBA consumers. Or maybe not!Once again it appears 256 GB SDD for the new r MBA is leading the pack, or am I wrong?
It's nice hearing not everyone hating it. My local BB sold out of the 8/256 space gray after a day or two and won't have more until this Friday, so I haven't bothered going to BB yet to check it out in person for myself, just relied on macrumors for what to expect, which overall has made it sound pretty bad.
Alright, so I've been using my new MBA for a few days and here are my thoughts:
My one real complaint is the pricing and how it all squares with the rest of the Mac lineup. The pricing is a little steep compared to the competition, and if I wasn't going to trade in my rMBP I would've waited a bit longer before upgrading. And as many people have pointed out, I think it's ridiculous that the base model only has 128 gigs of storage which is barely enough these days. It seems very strange that the 12" MacBook starts at 256 GB, and yet the base MBA only has half that storage. I get that Apple is doing that to make it more affordable, but now you have an odd situation where the smallest, oldest and least powerful laptop starts off more expensive than an all-new, more powerful and larger computer with more hardware features (and arguably a better keyboard). Not even sure what Apple's going to do for the non-Touch Bar MBP since it didn't get an update this year.
- Battery life has been fantastic so far, I can use it for a good chunk of the day and still have about 20-25% charge left by the time I'm ready for bed. Much better compared to the rMBP it replaced, which had to be plugged in about every 3-4 hours or so with regular use!
- Screen brightness is comparable to my old rMBP and I don't take it outside so no real complaints here.
- Having Touch ID is great, better than typing in a password and it's quicker than using my Watch. Even better since I get actual function keys with it!
- Performance was a little something I was worried about, but so far I've noticed that it's about as fast (if not faster) than my old rMBP with its i7. Shows you just how far CPUs have come in just 4-5 years.
- The third gen keyboard is pretty nice, the tactile feel is better than the 2015 12" MacBook that I used to have and so far no issues with stuck keys.
- One little thing about the screen is that the color reproduction isn't quite as good as my rMBP. It's a minor issue for me and I don't do anything color-sensitive so it's alright I suppose. Something to keep in mind if you plan on doing photo or video editing though.
- Going from a bunch of ports to just the two TB3 ports hasn't been too bad for me; I have adapters and dongles that I bought years ago for the 12" MB, and my Android phone uses USB-C so I've got all that I need to rectify the port situation on the MBA. Still miss MagSafe though.
- Pleased to see that Apple made the new MBA a little more repair-friendly, now I can actually replace the battery myself without having to worry about that horrible glue they use on all the other MacBooks (including my old rMBP).
- As I pointed out in a couple of posts in this forum, the "gold" color is really more of a copper hue with hints of pink if you catch it at the right angle and lighting. I was actually going to go for the silver one, but the gold MBA looked stunning under the store lights so I guess it was love at first sight!
My one real complaint is the pricing and how it all squares with the rest of the Mac lineup. The pricing is a little steep compared to the competition, and if I wasn't going to trade in my rMBP I would've waited a bit longer before upgrading. And as many people have pointed out, I think it's ridiculous that the base model only has 128 gigs of storage which is barely enough these days. It seems very strange that the 12" MacBook starts at 256 GB, and yet the base MBA only has half that storage. I get that Apple is doing that to make it more affordable, but now you have an odd situation where the smallest, oldest and least powerful laptop starts off more expensive than an all-new, more powerful and larger computer with more hardware features (and arguably a better keyboard). Not even sure what Apple's going to do for the non-Touch Bar MBP since it didn't get an update this year.
If you can get chance to have hands do that, it really isn't as bad as some of the comments on the forum are making out. People usually only ever comment when there's negative stuff. If you get chance, go to an Apple store and try it out, see what you think personally.
In the Apple store i went to yesterday they had no gold left, i was trying out the Macbook Air and new Macbook Pro for about an hour and half, i got talking to an Apple store employee who said the new Air are selling well, the gold and Space Grey seem to be the most popular is what he said. While i was trying out the machine there were people checking them out. I think interest is high at the moment.
Im out of the laptop game a for a few years since I just got a new mbp 2018.
But for a while I was considering returning mine for a 2018 MBA.
I checked it out in the flesh and wasn't impressed.
The thing that turned me off was just one available port which is on the same side and so close to the power port.
No thanks....dongle or no dongle.
It does look like a sexy beast though.....I started out with gold as my target, but when i saw them all up close I feel this machine is best suited in space grey.
Two-three years down the road, this will be a really cool piece of gear but not now.
But for a while I was considering returning mine for a 2018 MBA.
I checked it out in the flesh and wasn't impressed.
The thing that turned me off was just one available port which is on the same side and so close to the power port.
No thanks....dongle or no dongle.
It does look like a sexy beast though.....I started out with gold as my target, but when i saw them all up close I feel this machine is best suited in space grey.
Two-three years down the road, this will be a really cool piece of gear but not now.
Two available ports, either can act as power.
yes but the the power cord is in, just one.
Following this, I am sad to report a dead pixel in the middle of the screen
so it will be going back...Otherwise, here are some thoughts:
- The machine is beautiful (S730), like honestly it is so nice I actually prefer it to MacBook's. Even the bottom and sides are so nice, not many manage to do this.
- The keyboard is superior by miles, it isn't a contest
- WiFi performance is worse than my Air. On the Air, I was getting near the limit of my Wifi router (330 Mbps down and up). The Lenovo only managed around 160 Mbps down and up. Test was run several times from same location to same WiFi router within a few minutes to ensure a fair test. The WiFi on the MBA is very very strong.
- The screen on the Lenovo is maybe a tad brighter and the MBA is definitely more yellow.
- Fan is audible quite a few times on the Lenovo, now I have to take into consideration that the Lenovo does have a far better processor (i7-8565u vs i5-8210Y), so it could just be that. It is a thin and light laptop so I would assume it will get loud under semi-loads.
- Battery life is likely to be better on the MBA, it has a 50Wh battery vs the 42 Wh on the Lenovo
I am not sure if I want to refund or replace the Lenovo.... It is so nice!
Following this, I am sad to report a dead pixel in the middle of the screen
Otherwise, here are some thoughts:
- The machine is beautiful (S730), like honestly it is so nice I actually prefer it to MacBook's. Even the bottom and sides are so nice, not many manage to do this.
- The keyboard is superior by miles, it isn't a contest
- WiFi performance is worse than my Air. On the Air, I was getting near the limit of my Wifi router (330 Mbps down and up). The Lenovo only managed around 160 Mbps down and up. Test was run several times from same location to same WiFi router within a few minutes to ensure a fair test. The WiFi on the MBA is very very strong.
- The screen on the Lenovo is maybe a tad brighter and the MBA is definitely more yellow.
- Fan is audible quite a few times on the Lenovo, now I have to take into consideration that the Lenovo does have a far better processor (i7-8565u vs i5-8210Y), so it could just be that. It is a thin and light laptop so I would assume it will get loud under semi-loads.
- Battery life is likely to be better on the MBA, it has a 50Wh battery vs the 42 Wh on the Lenovo
I am not sure if I want to refund or replace the Lenovo.... It is so nice!
Nobody can beat A Lenovo Keyboard, I think that’s just known industry wide by now.
Fan is audible because Lenovo probably used a single thin heat pipe going to the fan, and it’s pushing the thermal limits when stressed at all.
Most Lenovo screens are also around 280-300 nits, but due to manufacturing variances and brands it could definitely be a bit brighter.
Lenovo designs some nice stuff, they just cheap out in some areas, the big one being the quality of their screens.
Agreed on Lenovo keyboards. I have no doubt about reliability of Lenovo keyboards.
The fan noise is also a more noisy fan compared to my XPS 9360 (ran a benchmark on both and the XPS is noticeably quite, it's not even the fan RPM but the fan design I would say, the sound is "different' and not just about the decibels, if that makes sense? I wouldn't say the Lenovo is whiny, but it is much more "whooshy"?).
I only played around with it for an hour or two, I didn't test it with my full development software (e.g. will VS/SSMS etc make it cry all day long? Who know's). Battery life will be weaker but I guess it will perform much better than my XPS 9360, being 4 cores rather than 2.
I agree with all of your other points, including that last one about pricing. Fortunately, I got $200 off (thanks for that article, macrumors!) at Micro Center last Saturday (still on sale, btw) so $999 put it in the "no brainer" category for me.
I'd been using an iPad Pro exclusively since May, and was thinking I could be happy without a Mac forever, but I simply missed MacOS too much for many personal tasks. I still LOVE my 10.5" iPP and will continue to use it daily, but I'm so happy to be back to my Mac!
first day using it with a dock and 4k screen: no problems, no lag.
and I was just running 3 java processes and browsing, maybe the slightest of lag but what do you expect. fan kicks off after one but to be expected.
this is a peppy little beast.
max brightness is too bright for me, not good for my eyes. and installed flux (isn't that what TrueTone is anyway?)
re: the keyboard, your fingers learn not to push so hard, done.
adjusted to force touch is weird, since I'm pressing too hard for single click. similar adjustment as the keyboard, but I'm disabling it.
not crazy about the degree the lid goes back, a bit restricted.
wow, speakers.
so far so good.
and I was just running 3 java processes and browsing, maybe the slightest of lag but what do you expect. fan kicks off after one but to be expected.
this is a peppy little beast.
max brightness is too bright for me, not good for my eyes. and installed flux (isn't that what TrueTone is anyway?)
re: the keyboard, your fingers learn not to push so hard, done.
adjusted to force touch is weird, since I'm pressing too hard for single click. similar adjustment as the keyboard, but I'm disabling it.
not crazy about the degree the lid goes back, a bit restricted.
wow, speakers.
so far so good.
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Following this, I am sad to report a dead pixel in the middle of the screen
Otherwise, here are some thoughts:
- The machine is beautiful (S730), like honestly it is so nice I actually prefer it to MacBook's. Even the bottom and sides are so nice, not many manage to do this.
- The keyboard is superior by miles, it isn't a contest
- WiFi performance is worse than my Air. On the Air, I was getting near the limit of my Wifi router (330 Mbps down and up). The Lenovo only managed around 160 Mbps down and up. Test was run several times from same location to same WiFi router within a few minutes to ensure a fair test. The WiFi on the MBA is very very strong.
- The screen on the Lenovo is maybe a tad brighter and the MBA is definitely more yellow.
- Fan is audible quite a few times on the Lenovo, now I have to take into consideration that the Lenovo does have a far better processor (i7-8565u vs i5-8210Y), so it could just be that. It is a thin and light laptop so I would assume it will get loud under semi-loads.
- Battery life is likely to be better on the MBA, it has a 50Wh battery vs the 42 Wh on the Lenovo
I am not sure if I want to refund or replace the Lenovo.... It is so nice!
1x1 Wifi on the Lenovo S730. It'll struggle. Great for surfing the Internet, typically, though not great for using with NAS etc.
No
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I expect no lag on a brand new machine charging not discount pricing
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I love their keyboards
What kind of RAM do you have?
I have 16GB, and have not seen any lag whatsoever on mine.
Sure is a lil beast
Can’t believe it’s a laptop’s speakers, amazing.
Alongside trackpads that seems to be one area MacBooks really excel, none of the competition seem to come close!
What kind of RAM do you have?
I have 16GB, and have not seen any lag whatsoever on mine.
Sure is a lil beast
16GB/512GB, but it was under three very heavy java processes, atypical simulation suited for workstation.